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NEWS & LETTERS, September-October 2005Victory over Shari'aOver 400 protesters rallied in Toronto's Queen's Park, Sept. 8, to demand that the Ontario government not allow family legal matters, such as divorce and child custody, be settled in private (Shari'a) courts based on religious laws. Marchs were held in six European and five Canadian cities by the International Campaign Against Shari'a Court in Canada (ICASCC). Minutes after the demonstration, Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant stated: "We have heard loud and clear from those who are seeking greater protections for women....We will ensure that the law of the land in Ontario is not compromised, that there will be no binding family arbitration in Ontario that uses a set of rules or laws that discriminate against women." By Sept. 11, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty stated that religious arbitrations "threaten our common ground," and promised his Liberal government would introduce legislation "as soon as possible" to outlaw them in Ontario. "The government is definitely heading in the right direction" said Ms. Homa Arjomand, Coordinator of the ICASCC. She started the Campaign in Toronto in 2003. Today it is a coalition of 87 organizations from 14 countries opposing the global spread of the deadly Shari'a Courts, which in the Middle East and Nigeria even sentence women to death. Arjomand asserted: "Together we have defeated the forces of Political Islam in Ontario, but this is just the first step. We must not stop here. We need to continue the fight and assist people in other countries who live under the burdens of Shari'a and Political Islam." --Information from International Campaign Against Shari’a Court in Canada |
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